http://blogs.chron.com/jeromesolomon/2009/06/when_should_weekend_warriors_g.html When weekend warriors should give it up Why do we insist on playing sports when we know our playing days are over? Especially when the participation is an attempt to do what I tried to do Saturday (and could do even five years ago) - roll out of bed and play? And I'm not talking golf or bowling, which offer little possibility of injury. Those of you who voted yes to the previous question of whether I am nuts (Daryl Morey voted with you), got some overwhelming evidence in support of your position Saturday. The King, who has done little more than sit on his throne for the past five years or so, decided to come out of retirement to play in the Rockets' media basketball tournament. I figured I would dominate as long as I could go, probably leave with slight damage to a hamstring or groin and be sore for a couple of days. Oops. Looks like I snapped, crackled and popped an Achilles tendon making a lightning-quick move past some helpless defender on Sports 610's team. I'm supposed to be on vacation in Puerto Rico this week, instead I'll be in a doctor's office Monday morning. • • • I know I'm not the first, but I used to make fun of old guys getting hurt because they are old. Now, I'm one of them. Rockets media relations chief Nelson Luis grabbed me some crutches - he says he looked at the ones Dikembe Mutombo used recently and laughed at the sight of me trying to work those. Instead of the would-be stilts, he found a pair that they have on hand for Power Dancers. I had no business being out there, but I have always had a near-miraculous ability to stay in shape without doing anything. I've jogged maybe five times in my life, but I've won bets against friends who jog everyday by whipping them in three-mile races around Memorial Park. Great metabolism. So I hit the treadmill Friday for some 20 minutes - 20 minutes longer than I had been on it in two years, and matching the 20 minutes I needed to get myself ready for the last Texans' media flag football game I played in. I also ran a mile on Friday - my standard running regimen is a daily chase with my dog Machado around the natural track from my kitchen, through the den, library, dining room, and back to the kitchen. Hey, I was ready to go. ... Stupid is, as stupid does. • • • Tournament favorite 1560 The Game, which had won this thing both years claimed the title again. I didn't see them do it, as I'd long limped out of the building by then, but they put together an impressive run through the loser's bracket (following an early defeat to 97.5 The Ticket) to do it. The Chron's team - Jordan "Gasol" Godwin, Heath Hamilton, Bernardo Fallas, Luis Perez and yours truly - had a solid day, with a 2-2 mark that certainly should have been better. We rolled a team of international media and slept-walked through a win over Fox Sports Houston, but our day ended with a loss to 610, after my boys couldn't handle the drama of seeing me limp off the court. "We knew it was serious, when he had to be helped off because Jerome always plays through the pain," one of them would have said if asked. "It was a very emotional moment for us." Our only loss that counts was to the Rockets' staff. That one hurt. As I told GM Daryl Morey, he had a team stocked with the likes of Shawn Respert - first-team All-America, Big Ten Player of the Year - while I had a team of typists (and soccer players). It was a close game - thanks to Godwin abusing Morey to keep us in it - but the better team won. Though we're sending videotape fo the league office for review of the referee's performance. Had I known the Rockets would be so touchy-feely, I would have ordered breakaway jerseys for my squad. And not only did scout BJ Johnson get away with a double-dribble, after he did a hop, skip and jump through the lane for a layup, I was convinced the fix was in. That's what I get for half-joking that the Texans are closer to a title than the Rockets. • • • Joke of the Day One of my boys, Rich Blakely, was on the golf course wearing a boot barely a week after surgery on a torn Achilles. He played so well and won so much money during recovery that he should have kept the boot on permanently. Internet research says most who suffer Achilles tendon injuries resume normal physical activities in 6-9 months. When my better half heard that, she looked at me - stretched out on the couch, foot propped up, remote in hand - with Machado stretched out on the couch in a matching pose, and declared, "It's a medical miracle! It took only two hours for you to resume your normal physical activity." That's really not funny.
